Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Hunting Humanity II	By : greenwizard11 Category: Supernatural > Slash - Male/Male Views: 1195 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Supernatural universe. No money is being made from this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
A month passed without any major incident. Liam came into the kitchen for breakfast, leaning heavily on a walker as he made his way slowly to the table. “Look at you!” Dean smiled. “You’re finally up and around again, faster than anyone thought you would be.”

“Yeah, like a really old person,” Liam sighed.

“Babe, this really nothing to sneeze at. You worked really hard. I’m proud of you.”

Liam lowered himself into a chair. “Going on another hunt without me?”

“Yeah, strange death in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Seems like there’s always something. You’re not quite there to go with us yet, but give it a little more time.”

Liam reached to grab his sword that he’d left leaning up against the counter. “I know you have the Colt, but I want you to take this too.”

“Your sword? No, Babe, that’s yours.”

Liam exhaled sharply. “Consider it a hunch.” He pressed a spot on the hilt and there was a little flash of the light and the thing shrank down to the size of a dagger.

“Whoa… how’d you do that?”

Liam smirked. “This thing has all kinds of neat tricks. It was a little temperamental for Jason, but it likes me for some reason. I think it’s kinda like the wands in Harry Potter. This weapon was made with some seriously powerful white magic. I’ll feel better if you take it.”

“Okay,” Dean reached out to grab it and tucked it safely in his jacket pocket. “You’ll have to teach me all its tricks sometime.”

“Deal,” Liam smiled.

Sam and Natalie walked in and they both smiled at Liam. “I hate that you guys are always leaving me,” she pouted a little. “I get why… At least I still have Liam for company, for now. The way he’s going you’d think he was trying to get away from me.”

“I’m just really itching to get back to my job,” Liam said. “It’s nothing personal against you.”

“Well, you and I are going to have omlettes for breakfast. What do you want in yours?”

“Cheddar, onions, and mushrooms.”

Sam pulled Natalie into a hug. “I told you, I’m an awful boyfriend. I don’t know why you keep me around honestly.”

“There are many reasons,” she said as she kissed him. “I’ll miss you, but you always come back and I really enjoy your company.”

“I’ll miss you like crazy,” Sam gave her a little smile and headed out to the car.

“And I’ll miss you more,” Dean kissed Liam. “Keep behaving for Natalie, and I’ll call you later.”

After Sam and Dean left Liam had breakfast with Natalie, and then they went for a short walk. After a little over two months of not being able to stand Liam wanted to be up and around as much as he could. “Just don’t wear yourself out and have a set back,” Natalie told him when they came back inside and he took himself over to the couch.

He took the rest of the day pretty easy. The next night he had just plopped himself down to watch a little TV when his phone rang. It was Dean. “Hey, was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”

“I could never forget about you. Sorry, things have just been a little hectic is all. Babe, what do you know about witches?”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“The woman up here who died after spitting out her teeth, Sam found a hex bag under her sink. We thought we knew who did it, but we just found her lying dead surrounded by lots of occult stuff. Poor rabbit… There was another hex bag under her coffee table.”

“Sounds like black magic. You’re dealing with some very powerful stuff. Usually in these cases there’s a pretty high ranking demonic ring leader that the witches sell their soul too in exchange for power.”

“Son of a bitch, another demon!”

“Yep, and the one you found dead likely slipped her leash. The demon you’re dealing with doesn’t fuck around.”

“Well, as always, you’ve been very helpful. How are those legs of yours?”

“Same as they were when you left yesterday morning. I really don’t like spending most of my time just sitting around. Natalie tries to keep me entertained, but I should be doing something to earn what she feeds me.”

“In time. You keep getting a little stronger every day. And Natalie is not your father, you don’t have to earn food. I swear, someday I’m going to manage to pound it into your head that you are a wonderful living breathing human being, and you deserve to have everything you need to keep living and be healthy.”

“Keep pounding away I guess. The bad stuff really is a lot easier to believe.”

“Well, I gotta get back to work. Remember that I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

The next day Liam and Natalie were having breakfast when the doorbell rang. “I wonder who that could be at this hour,” Natalie said as she got up to answer it.

An older gentleman who was mostly bald on top and was wearing a suit and trench coat was at the door. “Hello,” he gave Natalie a small smile. “Is Liam at home?”

Her eyes narrowed a little. “He is. What do you need him for?”

Liam came out with his walker to see who it was. As soon as the visitor saw him a cold wide grin appeared on his face. Then his eyes went black. “Oh, I just wanted to spend some father and son time with him.”

Natalie suddenly went flying across the room and landed hard at the bottom of the staircase. Liam stood frozen, just staring at the demon who quickly strode over to him. “You’re coming with me, you worthless sack of shit!” the demon growled and grabbed Liam by the throat, dragging him out.

A few minutes later Sam’s phone rang. “Looks like Natalie is really missing me,” he smiled as he answered it. “Hey, beautiful, what’s up? Oh, fuck! Are you all right?” his expression instantly went from happy to worried. “Yeah, I’ll tell him, and we’ll hurry. Love you. Bye.”

“Tel me what?” Dean asked, looking a little worried himself.

“Liam was just kidnapped again, this time by a demon claiming to be his father.”

Dean’s jaw clenched and he slammed his foot on the accelerator. They arrived back in Memphis in record time. “Any idea where the fucker took him?” Dean asked as soon as they came in the door.

“No,” Natalie shook her head.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sam asked her, gently sweeping her hair back to reveal a small cut on her forehead.

She pushed his hand away. “Sam, I’m not the one you should be worried about at the moment.”

“Sorry, but there was a demon in the house. They kill for shits and giggles.”

She sighed and leaned against him. “I appreciate your concern, but he wasn’t after me. I’m a little banged up, but fine.”

“I hate to break up this little bonding moment,” Dean interrupted, “but if we want to find Liam we have to figure out who the demon is wearing.”

“Yes,” Natalie nodded. “The security camera on the porch caught his face and his car. I called in a few favors, but if guys can figure it out faster...”

Sam headed in to Patrick’s study to get on his computer. He came back several minutes later with a piece of paper. “His name is Jared Moss. He’s sixty four years old, and is a preacher at a local Methodist church.”

“You think this bastard really could be Liam’s father?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” Sam shrugged. “It would explain why he came after Liam, and it makes sense that he chose a preacher for his meat suit.”

“Do you have his address?”

“Yeah, the house is right by the church about two miles from here.”

“Let’s go.”

Liam was on the floor of the empty church out cold in the aisle between the two rows of pews. His face and the front of his shirt were soaked. There were several deep cuts all over his body still oozing a little blood. His eyes fluttered open and he started coughing. “Welcome back,” the demon grinned. “You remember that game? It was one of my favorites.”

Liam pulled himself into a sitting position and shook his head. “In all this time you haven’t learned anything new?”

“I’ve learned plenty, son. I was just being nostalgic. But hey, if you want something new, who am I to deny to the freak of all freaks.”

Liam’s body levitated off the floor and then started convulsing as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Then just as suddenly he fell back down. “That new enough for you?”

Liam scoffed and wiped the blood from his mouth. “Thought so. All you’ve got in your arsenal is different forms of pain.” He laughed a little. “Thanks to all you’re antics while you were alive, pain doesn’t bother me that much anymore.”

“Okay, let’s try this approach. You are the stupidest shit to ever walk the earth. You got incredibly lucky and had a great thing going being a vampire. You were an apex predator, but as soon as you were given the gift you tried to get rid of it. Hell, you couldn’t even utilize the gift right. Oh, and how does it feel to know that you turned your own brother into a murderer?” Liam sighed deeply and stared up at the ceiling. “No witty comebacks this time? Looks like I found the right button.”

“Get the fuck away from him!” Dean shouted as he and Sam entered the church, the Colt pointed at the demon.

The demon smirked at them. “Ah, the Winchester brothers came to join the party. I want to thank you for letting me out of the pit, but really, this is a family bonding moment.”

“You really have to claim to be his father? You couldn’t come up with something a little more original to hurt us? I mean, come on, that’s a little weak.”

Dean went flying back to be pinned against the back wall, making him drop the gun. The demon approached him with an amused grin. “It’s not weak to speak the truth. Oh, Dean Winchester, you’ve been a hunter all these years and you don’t know where we demons come from? How delightful for me to be the one to tell you. I really was human once, and I fathered that monstrosity over there. After my own oldest son killed me Jesus and I had a little chat.”

“Jesus is real?” Dean asked looking shocked.

“Very,” the demon nodded.

“So… the Bible…?”

“Just a book written by humans trying to decipher all the messages. Anyhow, I was told that my poor wife, who was actually infertile, had earnestly prayed to God every night for a healthy second child. Eventually, when her time was running out, God decided to give her a gift. He gave her that second child, and not just any soul, but a half human half angel He had created. Why the hell He created that freak I’ll never know, but I was told that because I seriously mistreated that gift my punishment was the pit.”

Dean snorted. “If what he’s told us is true, serious mistreatment is the understatement of the century.”

The demon chuckled. “I’m sure what he told was true, and only the tip of the iceberg. There is a real fire in that pit, Dean. It burns away your humanity and turns you into this.”

“Were all demons…?”

“As far as I know, yes. And before you ask, the answer to your burning question is also yes. Because my son was a colossal idiot, the same fate awaits you. I can’t tell you how long it will take because that depends on the individual. For me it didn’t take very long. Some might say it was because I was weak. Personally, I say it was because I was smart and embraced my fate. It didn’t hurt that I clung so very tight to my hatred of the freak I was landed with. Because of him my soul was already damaged goods. Maybe that’s why I remember being human when most of my kind don’t. Oh well. I find that life is much better without all that messy human emotion anyway. Now, if you gentleman will kindly excuse me, I have a freak to slowly rip apart.”

He moved to turn and a shot rang out, the bullet striking him in the side of the head. There were sparks and the demon fell down dead. Dean fell back to floor and looked up to see Liam standing where the Colt fell, the just fired gun in one hand and the other leaning on a pew. Sam raced over from where he was standing to catch Liam just as he fell. “Liam, are you okay?”

“I’m alive,” Liam answered, leaning into Sam.

“But are you okay?” Dean asked as he came over. “Did the bastard snake his way inside your head?”

Liam blinked and shook his head. “It’s all my fault. First I turn my brother into a murderer, and then I screw up and you’re going to hell to become a demon. I can’t do anything about it. Even if I tried I would probably just make things worse.”

“Oh, yeah,” Dean sighed. “He’s in there again. Babe, you heard everything he said, don’t just focus on the bad stuff. It came right out of his mouth, you were a gift from God. Your father was sent to hell because of what he did to you. Nobody forced him to do those things. Your brother, he did what he did because he realized how special you were and he knew he had to protect you. As a big brother myself I can tell you that you do what needs to be done to keep them safe. And my little brother is just a plain old human. You, if what was once your father can be believed, you’re half angel. That makes you very unique and special. You’re worth protecting. Now, we need to get the hell out of here before someone discovers that body.”

They got Liam back to the house and bandaged up all the cuts while they told Natalie what happened. “Half angel, huh?” she mused as she brushed a hair out of his face. “I can believe that.”

Liam sighed and hung his head. “I guess I really am a freak.”

“Stop that!” Dean shouted. “There are like about ten billion humans on earth right now, and who knows how many angels. Right now, what we know is there is only one mix of both, and that’s you. The reason you were created may be unknown to us, but so what? Maybe God actually had a bored moment and starting wondering what if. Does it really matter? Hell, it’s got me wondering what if that’s the reason you kept you kept your soul when you were turned into a vampire. But you’ve been around long enough to know that when something is one of a kind it is coveted. And before it ever enters your pretty little head, because knowing you it will, you are not trading your much more valuable soul for mine. I will fucking skin you if you try it.”

Sam hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. “Bobby has never heard of human angel hybrids, but thinks it could be possible. Demons tell the truth sometimes, especially if they think it will fuck with your head. But he’s going to dig through all his resources to look for any lore on the subject.”

Three days later they were having dinner when Dean’s phone rang. He hung up a minute later. “God damn it!”

“What?” Sam asked.

“That was a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bobby is in a coma, and I apparently am his emergency contact.”

“I guess that means we’re going to Pittsburgh,” Sam said as he took his plate to the sink.

“Give me a minute to get myself packed,” Liam said as he grabbed his walker and pushed himself up.

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Dean protested. “You’re a lot better than you were, but not good enough to come with us. He had to be working a job, and we don’t know what we’re walking into.”

Liam got a look of pure determination on his face. “And what in our history makes you think you can stop me? Dean, I’m fucking tired of just sitting here like a lump! After what I went through three days ago I’ve gotta do something. I… I can do research, or… I’ll think of something when we get there.”

“Fine,” Dean sighed. “You’re right, when you get that look on your face, short of carrying you upstairs right now and chaining you to the bed with three pairs of handcuffs, I probably can’t stop you. But you listen here, you’re gonna do what I tell you. You’re not going to do anything stupid or dangerous. You’re going to let me do my best to keep you safe, got it? Anyway, it’s a little late to be leaving now. We’ll head out first thing in the morning.”

After an early quick breakfast they all said goodbye to Natalie and climbed in the car. About twelve hours later they were standing in a hospital room with Bobby’s unconscious body talking to a doctor. The doctor told him they couldn’t find anything wrong with Bobby. He just went to sleep and hadn’t woken up.

They went to the motel room Bobby was staying in to try and figure out what he was working on so they could save him. The room looked clean, but Liam found a bunch of things taped to the wall in the closet hidden behind clothes. “Can either of you make heads or tails of any of this?” Sam asked while they looked at it.

Dean picked up a paper about a plant. "Silene capensis, which of course means absolutely nothing to me.”

Liam went right to a newspaper clipping. "Dr. Walter Gregg, sixty four, university neurologist. He mysteriously died in his sleep."

Dean took the clipping and studied it. “Okay, so it looks like Bobby was investigating whoever or whatever killed this guy, and now he’s being hunted. You two keep studying this stuff and see if either of you can figure out where Bobby was. I’m gonna go look into the good doctor.”

A few hours later Sam and Liam went back to the hospital. Dean was already there. “How is he?” Sam asked.

“No change. You two chuckleheads come up with anything?”

“Well, when you called and told us about the doc’s experiments Bobby’s wall started making a lot more sense,” Sam answered.

“How so?” Dean asked.

Sam held up the picture of the plant. “This plant, silene capensis, is also known as African dream root. It's been used by shaman and medicine men for centuries. If you believe the legends, it's used for dreamwalking. I mean, entering another person's dreams, poking around in their heads. But dreamwalking is just the tip of the iceberg. This dream root is some serious mojo. You take enough of it, with practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger.”

They all looked to Bobby. “You could potentially take control of another person’s dreams and kill them in their sleep,” Liam sighed.

“So let's say this doc was testing this stuff on his patients, Tim Leary style,” Sam continued.

“Somebody gets pissed at him, decides to give him a little dream visit, he goes nighty night,” Dean finished the thought. “I’m with you now.”

Liam put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “The one thing we can’t figure out is if the killer came after Bobby, why is he still alive?”

Dean got up and headed into the hallway. The other two followed. “So how do we find our homicidal sandman?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” Sam shrugged. “It could be anyone with access to the dream root. Maybe one of his test subjects or something?”

“Possible,” Dean gave a little nod. “But his research was pretty sketchy. I mean, I don't know how many subjects he had, or who all of them were.”

Sam let out a loud sigh. “Normally we'd be calling Bobby and asking him for help right now.”

Dean stopped and grabbed Sam’s arm. “You know what? You're right. Let’s go talk to him.”

“Umm...” Liam turned and looked back to Bobby’s room. “Don’t you think the conversation will be a little one sided though?”

“Not if we're tripping on some dream root,” Dean said.

“You wanna go dreamwalking inside Bobby's head?” Sam looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“Yeah. Why not? Maybe we could help.”

“We have no idea what's crawling around in there,” Sam pointed out.

“Well, how bad could it be?”

“There’s really no telling. Whatever it is, it’s keeping him from waking up.”

“And after all he’s done for us over the years we owe it to him to fix that.”

“Yeah, you're right,” Sam nodded. “One problem though. We're fresh out of African dream root, so unless you know someone who can score some...”

“Crap,” Dean sighed. “I can only think of one person. Bela.”

“You're actually suggesting we ask her a favor?” Sam raised his eyebrows.

“I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yeah.”

Dean bit the bullet and called Bela when they got back to the hotel room. All he got was laughed at, so they sat down to look over the doctor’s notes to try and find something. “Dude, he had worse handwriting than you do,” Dean teased Sam.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Dean went to answer it, and when he saw who it was he huffed. Then he stepped back and let Bela into the room. “Bela. As I live and breathe. I thought you turned me down.”

“Well, I'm just full of surprises,” she smirked at him. “And who is this charmingly handsome man?” she looked to Liam on the bed.

“That’s my boyfriend, Liam,” Dean answered. “He wasn’t with us before because of an injury, but he’s mostly better now.”

“Your boyfriend?” she gave him that all too familiar look. “Funny, I didn’t peg you for the type.”

“Yeah, well,” Dean shrugged. “I guess I’m just full of surprises too.”

“I brought you your African dream root,” she said, handing him a jar with the plant in it. “Nasty stuff, and not easy to come by.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Dean asked curiously.

“What? I can't do you a little favor every now and again?” she gave him a coy smile.

“From what I know of you, no.” Dean set the jar down and crossed his arms while watching her suspiciously. “Come on, I wanna know what the strings are before you attach them.”

“You said this was for Bobby Singer, right?”

“Yeah. And?”

“Well, I'm doing it for him. Not you.”

“Not that I’m going to complain, but why?”

“He saved my life once. So when do we go on this little magical mystery tour?”

“Oh, you're not going anywhere. I don't trust you enough to let you in my car, much less Bobby's head. No offense.” Dean picked up the jar and took over to the room safe where the Colt was also being kept.

Bela huffed and stormed out. “Well, she seemed… interesting...” Liam commented.

Dean chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, she’s a barrel of laughs. Liam, you’re the resident tea expert, make us some dream root tea.”

Liam used the room coffee maker to make three steaming cups. “Hold it, cowboy,” Dean said when he saw the third cup. “Your ass is staying right here.”

Liam shot him a glare. “I don’t need strong legs to dream. And if it’s safe for you, it’s safe for me.”

Sam looked to his brother. “We really don’t have time to argue, and we both know he’ll do it anyway once we’re out. Like Alice said that day we visited her, you might as well try and train a cat.”

“Fine, you win, again,” Dean grumbled.

Dean moved to drink the liquid and Sam reached out to stop him. “Wait, can’t forget this.” He pulled out a little envelope from his shirt pocket.

“What the hell is that?” Dean asked.

“Bobby's hair,” Sam answered.

Both Dean and Liam made disgusted faces. “We have to drink Bobby's hair?” Dean swallowed hard.

“That's how you control whose dream you're entering,” Sam explained. “You gotta drink some of their uh... some of their body.”

“Well,” Dean sighed, “guess the hair of the dog is better than other parts of the body.”

Sam put a little hair in each cup and they all three chugged. Then they sat looking at each other waiting for something to happen, but nothing seemed to.

“Feel anything?” Dean looked back and forth between his companions.

“Nope,” Liam shook his head.

“Me either,” Sam said.

“Maybe Bela screwed us and brought us the wrong stuff,” Dean sighed.

Suddenly a quiet clap of thunder was heard from outside and the sound of rain could be heard tapping on the window. “Hey, when did it start raining?” Sam asked.

“Just now?” Liam shrugged.

Dean got up to look out the window. The droplets weren’t coming from the sky, but instead the ground. “When did it start raining upside down?” he tilted his head and looked back to his companions.

They blinked and suddenly they were standing in a quaint looking living room. “Okay, I don't know what's weirder, the fact that we're in Bobby's head, or that he's dreaming of ‘Better Homes and Gardens’,” Dean commented as they looked around.

“Wait a sec,” Sam said. “Imagine the place without the paint job. More cluttered, dusty, books all over the place.”

“It's Bobby's house,” realization suddenly dawned on Dean. He started walking around calling out Bobby’s name.

“I'm gonna go look outside,” Sam started heading for the door.

“No,” Dean shook his head. “Stay close. We stick together.”

“Dude, I'll be fine. Just, look around in here. Look, we gotta find him.”

“Don't do anything stupid.”

Sam stepped outside and Dean and Liam continued searching the house, Dean still calling out for Bobby. They went through the kitchen and into a hallway. “Who's out there?” they finally heard Bobby’s frightened voice from behind a closed door.

“Bobby, you in there?” Dean spoke to the closed door.

“Dean?” Bobby called out.

“Yeah. It's me. Open up.”

Bobby opened up the door a crack and peeked out. He had a few scratches on his face. He looked scared but otherwise fine. He emerged and headed into the kitchen. “How in the hell did you find me?” he asked.

“We got our hands on some dream root,” Dean answered.

“Dream root? What?” Bobby looked confused.

“Dr. Gregg and the experiments?” Dean tried to remind him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” A lamp on a table flickered. “Hurry,” Bobby started heading back to the closet.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Dean grabbed his arm.

“She's coming,” Bobby looked truly terrified.

“You know this is a dream, don't you?” Liam raised an eyebrow.

“What are you, crazy?” Bobby shouted.

“It's a dream, Bobby! None of this is real!” Dean tried to get him to remember.

A woman in a white bloody dress appeared at the other end of the hall. The blood was coming from wounds on her neck and chest. “Does that look made up?” Bobby pointed to her.

The closet door slammed shut behind them and Bobby turned, frantically trying to get it open again. “Bobby, who is that?” Dean asked.

Bobby turned around again with tears in his eyes. “She’s my wife.”

“Why did you do this to me?” the woman asked, looking sad.

“I'd rather died myself than hurt you,” Bobby whimpered.

“But you did hurt me. You shoved that knife into me. Again and again. You watched me bleed. Watched me die.”

“You were possessed, baby. You were rabid, and I didn't know what I know now. I didn't know how to save you.”

“You're lying,” she growled.

Liam suddenly tackled her and she screamed, trying to force him off. While the two of them wrestled on the floor Dean dragged Bobby into the living room and closed the doors. “I'm telling you, your house, your wife, it's a nightmare!” Dean shouted at Bobby. He flinched a little at a particularly loud crash.

“I killed her!” Bobby cried.

“Bobby! This is your dream. You can wake up. I mean, hell, you can do anything,” Dean tried to shake some sense into him again. “You gotta snap out of this now. I'm not gonna let you die. You're like a father to me. You gotta believe me, please.”

“I'm dreaming?” Bobby still looked confused.

“Yes! Now take control of it.”

Bobby closed his eyes tight and seconds later Liam let out a little yell of surprise and there was a thump. Dean opened the doors and Liam was on the floor by himself. Bobby’s wife was nowhere in sight. “That hurt...” Liam groaned.

“I don't believe it,” Bobby looked shocked.

“Believe it. Now would you please wake up?” Dean pleaded.

Suddenly Sam, Dean, and Liam were back in the motel room on the beds. They all shot upright and looked at each other. “Where did you go?” Dean asked Sam.

“I was out in the yard,” Sam answered. “And there was this guy there, I think it was the guy you went to talk to. He attacked me with a bat.”

Dean turned to Liam. “You’re a little psychotic, you know that? What the hell is wrong with you, jumping on a dream person like that? Something bad could’ve happened to you.”

Liam shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Dean sighed and shook his head. “Let’s just get to the hospital and see if Bobby is awake.”

“I’m gonna go look for that guy Jeremy I think,” Sam said. “You and Liam go see Bobby.”

When Dean and Liam entered the room Bobby was indeed awake. “Hey, boys,” Bobby gave them a little nod. “Thanks for waking my ass up.”

“Not a problem,” Dean gave him a little smile.

“Hey, Liam, would you go fetch me a soda something?” Bobby asked. “I’m awful thirsty.”

Liam glanced at the water pitcher on the little tray looking very confused but he shrugged. “Okay...”

When Liam was gone Dean turned to Bobby. “Why’d you send him away?”

“Because I don’t want him to hear what I’m about to tell you, you idjit. I was going to give you a call after I wrapped this case up, but I might as well tell you now. That research I was doing for you about human angel hybrids, a contact of mine found something.”

“What?” Dean sat on the edge of the bed looking very interested.

“There was one created a very long time ago, like the beginning of civilization long time ago. His name is Astiratu, but the Egyptians called him Set.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “You mean the god of chaos?”

“The original, yes,” Bobby nodded.

“Original?” Dean looked confused. “There’s more than one?”

“According to legend Astiratu got bored one day and decided it would be funny as hell to give human kings powers and pit them against each other. God didn’t find it so funny, and he sent the angel Kurai to rein him in. Kurai I guess is kind of the angelic police force. Anyway, Astiratu was locked away for a little while and God created another Set for the humans. But, well, you know how that one famous president once said speak softly and carry a big stick? Astiratu got turned into God’s personal giant stick. He lets his pet loose on the world when evil has too much influence for His taste.”

“Really? His pet?” Dean’s eyebrows furled. “So, this Astiratu guy, he fights evil?”

Bobby nodded. “He is described as a really horny and seriously psychotic but inexplicably brilliant homosexual man with a stubborn streak a mile long.”

“Brilliant like figuring out how to fix the Colt?”

“Yep. We’re talking wickedly steep learning curve.”

“Then check on all counts so far. What else?”

“He is benevolent, a real sweetheart some would say, unless you’re unfortunate enough to royally piss him off.”

“Then what?”

“Then God help you because only God Himself can. The lore says Vlad the Impaler was given to Astiratu for a play thing as punishment for his crimes. In about ten minutes he had that joker begging for the pit.”

“Oh, geez,” Dean shook his head. “Then it can’t be Liam. I mean, all that disgusting abuse and Liam just took it. A father like that would really piss me off.”

“Maybe for some reason the piss off switch just wasn’t flipped?”

“Maybe. What else did your contact tell you about this Astiratu?”

“He’s loyal to a fault. I mean, the average every day person he would turn on for a Klondike bar, but if you actually earn his love and devotion, he’d rather endure the worst agony imaginable than give you up. That also means he has one hell of a fierce protective streak. If he loves you then Lucifer himself won’t dare touch you without losing the finger.”

Dean smirked. “He doesn’t sound like a bad guy unless you make him angry.”

“Yeah, but if he considers you an enemy he will mow your ass down and you’ll never know what the hell hit you. He is first and foremost a warrior, and the only chink in his armor is that he’s fairly easily distracted with a shiny object.”

“Shiny objects, huh?” Dean chuckled.

“Look, if that demon was telling the truth and Liam is Astiratu, that crossroads demon had no clue what she was bringing back and potentially screwing with. That may just be your way out, because if he truly loves you and you do go to hell, hell will pay dearly when he’s back on the other side again.”

Dean nodded. “So, is there a way to tell if Liam is him for sure?”

“Dried angelica leaves and salt. You make a mixture of the two and pour a few drops of his blood into it. If he’s just a plain old human nothing will happen. If he is Astiratu the blood will turn aqua in color.”

“Okay then. And he has no idea who he is?”

“No. He remembers everything while on the other side, but when he is let loose on earth all knowledge of who and what he is is erased. He does his best work that way.”

“That would explain why Liam’s dad was sent to the pit for torturing him. I mean, if I gave my pet to someone and they treated it like that I’d be pissed too. But that doesn’t explain why God would give his personal big stick to a preacher and his wife.”

“Beats the hell outta me, kid. Demons lie, so maybe this is all just nothing. Oh, but if his eyes ever turn purple run like hell, not that that will do you much good.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the first tell tale sign you’ve flipped his piss off switch.”

Liam came back with a can of Sprite and both men looked up at him. “Umm… here...” he set the can down on the little table. “Why are you two staring at me?”

“It’s nothing, Babe,” Dean smiled at him.

Sam came in then. “So, uh, stoner boy wasn't in his dorm. My guess is he's long gone by now.”

“Sam, do we have any dried angelica leaves?” Dean asked.

“We might, why?” Sam looked really confused.

“I’ll tell you later. What do we know about Jeremy?”

“His name's Jeremy Frost,” Bobby started talking. “Full on genius. Hundred and sixty IQ. Which is saying something, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head. Injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand. He hasn't dreamt since.”

“Till he started dosing the dream drug,” Dean shook his head. “How'd he know how to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?”

Bobby shrugged. “Hey, he was rooting around in my skull. God knows what he saw in there.”

“Yeah. How'd he get in there in the first place?” Sam asked. “Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair, your DNA, or something?”

“'Before I knew it was him, he offered me a beer. I drank it. Dumbest frigging thing.”

Dean flicked his gaze to the floor. “Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that dumb,” he chuckled nervously.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Dean, you didn't.”

“I was thirsty.”

Sam threw his hands up. “That's great. Now he can come after either one of you.”

Bobby sighed. “We better work fast and coffee up because the one thing we cannot do is fall asleep.”

They searched high and low for Jeremy over the next two days. Dean kept chugging coffee and Sam and Liam took turns making sure he stayed awake. “I mean, this Jeremy guy's not a friggin ghost.,” Dean grumbled from behind the wheel of the Impala. “Where the hell could he be?”

“Dean, you sure you don't want me to drive?” Sam offered. “You seem a little...”

“Caffeinated,” Liam finished the sentence from the back seat.

“Well, thanks for the news flash, Edison!” Dean shouted. “Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm tired.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Liam reached up to rub his shoulders.

Suddenly Dean pulled off to the side of the road. “Alright, that's it. I'm done!”

“What are you doing?” Sam asked.

Dean made himself comfortable, or at least tried to. “Taking myself a long overdue nap.”

“What?” Sam’s eyes widened. “Dean, Jeremy can come after you.”

“Come on man, we can't find him, so let him come to me.”

“On his own turf? Where he's basically a god?”

“I can handle it.”

“Not alone, you can't.” Sam reached to pluck a few hairs from Dean’s head. “I’m coming in with you.”

“No, you're not,” Dean argued.

“Why not? At least then it'll be two against one.”

“Three against one,” Liam said, also puling a few hairs.

“I don’t want either of you digging around inside my head.”

“Too bad,” Sam said as he went about preparing the liquid and gave some to Liam.

Dean grumbled but went to sleep. Sam and Liam drank the liquid with Dean’s hairs and weren’t far behind him.

They all three sat in the Impala exactly where Dean had pulled over. “So far so good,” Dean said as he looked around.

They got out of the car and started looking around. Jeremy appeared in the woods and they chased after him. They followed him into a clearing and Dean was gone. “What the…?” Sam looked around frantically. “Liam, do you see him anywhere?”

“No.”

Jeremy suddenly came out of nowhere and hit Sam hard in the gut. Sam doubled over onto the ground. “Boy, you just don't know when to leave well enough alone, do you?” Jeremy looked smug.

Liam punched him and the two fought until Jeremy lay on the ground beside Sam curled up. “You're a psycho,” Sam accused.

“You're wrong,” Jeremy shook his head and got right back up.

“Yeah? Tell that to Dr. Gregg.”

“The doc? No, no. The doc's the one that got me hooked on this stuff and then he took it away. But I needed it, and he wouldn't let me have it.”

“So you killed him?” Liam raised an eyebrow.

“I just wanna be left alone. I just wanna dream.”

“Sorry. Can't do that,” Sam said.

“That's the wrong answer,” Jeremy growled. Suddenly both Sam and Liam were tied to the ground with railroad spikes. “I'm getting better and better at this. Stronger and stronger all the time,” he smirked. “But you three, you're not waking up. Not this time. I'm not gonna let you.”

Jeremy started hitting them both with his bat. “You can't stop me. There's nothing I can't do in here. Like I said before, you’re just worthless insects.”

Liam’s head popped up and his eyes narrowed. “What did you just say to me, asshole?”

Jeremy chuckled. “I said you’re a worthless insect, and I am god!”

Liam’s features suddenly went icy cold and his eyes flashed purple for a split second. “Oh, I’ll show you who’s a god, bitch!” Liam snarled and suddenly he and Jeremy disappeared.

All three men woke up in the Impala at the same time. Sam looked back to Liam. “Where did you and Jeremy go? What happened to him?”

Liam blinked. “What are you talking about? He was beating us with that bat and now we’re here. I don’t get it.”

“No,” Sam shook his head. “Jeremy called us insects and I saw your eyes flash purple and you got all weird. Then you said you’d show him who was a god, and you both disappeared.”

Dean’s eyes widened at the mention of purple eyes. “The piss off switch,” he mumbled.

“The what?” Sam looked at his brother.

“Nothing, Sammy. Liam, you really don’t remember anything after that, do you?”

“Nope,” Liam answered honestly. “The last thing I remember before waking up here was being hit with the bat.”

“Sam, call Bobby and tell him that it’s over.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Pretty damn sure, yeah,” Dean nodded as he got back onto the road.

“Dean, do you know something I don’t?” Liam asked.

“Don’t worry about it, Babe.”

When they got back to the motel Bobby, Sam, and Dean stood in the hall while Liam started packing their things. “And you’re absolutely sure this guy is taken care of?” Bobby asked.

“Bobby, Sam saw Liam’s eyes flash purple and he went all funny before they disappeared.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bobby nodded. “That means Jeremy is somewhere wishing he was mincemeat.”

“Guys,” Sam looked back and forth between them. “Would someone like to fill me in?” Bobby very quietly told Sam everything he told Dean. Sam’s eyes widened. “So, you really think Liam is this Astiratu character?”

“We’ll do the angelica and salt blood test to know for sure, but it looks that way, yes,” Dean nodded.

“Then what do we do? I mean, what will flip this piss off switch?”

Bobby shook his head. “I wish I could tell you, kid. All I really know from what my contact told me is if he really cares about you you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. I wouldn’t treat him any differently either. He’s not an evil monster that needs killed. Lucky for us he’s on our side.”

“And he doesn’t remember a thing after the switch was flipped, so...” Dean shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Good,” Bobby nodded.

“Guys,” Liam came out into the hall. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’d better come see this.”

They all headed into the room and the room safe was open and empty. “The Colt, where the hell is it?” Dean turned to Liam.

“I don’t know,” Liam just shrugged. “I went to get it and pack it and it was gone.”

Dean leaned against the wall with his hands covering his face. “Bela!” he growled. “Come on, let’s hunt the bitch down! Oh, there was something I wanted to do first.” He got out a small bowl, some dried angelica leaves, and salt. He ground the leaves and salt together and turned to Liam. “Babe, do me a favor and slice your finger and bleed into that bowl a little.”

“Why?” Liam asked, looking confused.

“Because Bobby found out this is a way of telling whether or not your demon father was lying.”

“Oh,” Liam shrugged and dug out a knife, pressing the tip into his thumb pad with a little wince. He squeezed a few drops of blood out into the bowl. They all four watched as the blood turned from red to aqua blue.

Dean looked up to Liam. “Just as I thought, we have a winner.”
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Hunting Humanity II